Non-pneumatic vehicle wheel

ABSTRACT

TION OF THE HELICAL SPRING AND SERVES AS THE GROUND ENGAGING ELEMENT OF THE WHEEL.   A NON-PNEUMATIC VEHICLE WHEEL UTILIZING A CONVENTIONAL PNEUMATIC WHEEL RIM, A CONTINUOUS HELICAL SPRING ANNULUS AND A PNEUMATIC TIRE CASING. THE HELICAL SPRING IS SECURED AROUND THE WHEEL RIM AND THE CASING OVERLIES THE OUTER PERIPHERAL POR-

June 1974 United States Patent 11 1 Kowatch 1,148,072 7/1915 1,171 5072/1916 De Loe.........

1,213,557 Trotter......,.,.

h C .H n E W m W 3 mm c n m? EKm LF Aw WEA E: mm n we Nm MN 1 1 [22]Filed: Jan. 20, 1972 Appl. No.: 203,116

Primary Examiner-*Drayton E. Hoffman Foreign Application Priority DataDec. 16, 1971 ABSTRACT Philippines.1....,1..1...,..,.,.,..,..,,,.6263

5 /92, 152/2 :A non-pneumatic vehicle wheel utilizing a conven- 'tionalpneumatic wheel rim, a continuous helical B6011 spring annulus and apneumatic tire casing. The helical spring is secured around the wheelrim and the casing overlies the outer peripheral portion of the helicalspring and serves as the ground engaging element of the wheel.

[58] Field of Search.........

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,146,289- 7/1915Shobk......,;...... ...'l.;.........,.v. 152/261 1 Claim, 6 DrawingFigures PATENTEDJun 4 m4 3.814.157 SHEET 2 BF 2 [FIGG l j NON-PNEUMATICVEHICLE WHEEL This invention relates to a non-pneumatic vehicle wheelutilizing a helical spring annulus.

In times of war and similar exigencies, it is sometimes necessary toprovide a substitute for pneumatic wheels which are puncture-proof butwhich have the desirable performance characteristics of penumaticwheels. Prior vehicle wheel substitutes of this type have not foundcommercial acceptance due to their inherently profound disadvantagessuch as lack of uniform resiliency and in most cases no provision ismade for effecting repairs without substantially completely replacingthe entire unit. The above and other disadvantages of said prior wheelsubstitutes result in a performance that is less than satisfactory and auseful life less than that of and so well designed as to be unlikely tobreak down,

and hence highly efficient in operation;

2. To provide a non-pneumatic vehicle wheel which may be convenientlyrepaired;

3. To provide a non-pneumatic vehicle wheel whose casing andground-engaging element is an easily re.- placeable pneumatic tire;

4. To provide a non-pneumatic vehicle wheel utilizing a conventionalpneumatic wheel rim;

5. To provide a non-pneumatic vehicle wheel having the resilience of apneumatic wheel and simulative of the appearance of the same.

Essentially, the vehicle wheel of the invention comprises a conventionalpneumatic wheel rim, a continuous helical spring annulus and a pneumatictire casing. The novel arrangement of these elements and theirconstructional inter-relationships by which the aforementioned objectsare obtained will now be described and shown in detail.

In the drawings:

FIG/l is a side elevation of the vehicle wheel of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective detail view of the helical springannulus shown in relative position of connection with the vehicle rim;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the casing, the dotted linesdefining a conventional pneumatic tirefor purposes of comparison;

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective taken along line l-I of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the annular sidewallcovering-and FIG. 6 is a partial vertical cross-section of the wheeltaken along line X-X of FIG. 1. y

The same reference characters are used to indicate like parts throughoutthe several views of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings, the vehicle wheel 11 of the inventionmore specifically includes a conventional pneumatic wheel rim ]2 aroundwhich is secured by electric welds a continuous annular helical spring13 defining a toroid extending about said rim 12. The outer peripheralportion of the helical spring 13 is similarly welded to a flexibleperipheral flat metal band 14. To further rigidly hold the helicalspring in place, an annular metal channel 15 is welded to both sides ofthe helical spring whose channel recess serves to retain the wheel duemainly to the flexibility of the peripheral metal band which minimizesroad shock and the positioning of the annular channels which preventtwisting of the coils of the helical spring when subjected to loadenabling the transmission of load forces along a substantially radialdirection.

The annularchannels being positioned substantially midway the height ofthe toroid defined by the helical spring annulus necessitate the use ofa casing having a height shorter than that of a conventional pneumatictire, as illustrated in FIG. 3. For emergency use, the casing employedin the subject vehicle wheel may b cutout from a conventional pneumatictire.

The annular metal channels 15 and the outwardly extending rim flanges 21co-extensively define an annular opening 18 on both sides of the wheelproviding accesses-for repair. To prevent ingress of dirt and the likeinto said openings 18, a detachable annular sidewall covering 19 isprovided, having a plurality of circumferentially spaced pairs oflocking projections 20 integrally formed on the inner face thereof whichare adapted to interlock with the inner sides of the said annular metalchannels and the rim flanges, as more clearly illustrated in dottedlines in FIG. 6. When attached, the covering 19 merges with the casingimproving the appearance of integrality with the same, therebysimulating a conventional pneumatic wheel.

A suitable resilient filter 22 filling the gap between the annularhelical spring and the casing is provided to insure a firm contactbetween said casing and said helical spring.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms departing from theessential characteristics thereof. The embodiment shown should not beconsidered restrictive but merely illustrative, the scope of theinvention being defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoingdescription and all changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be protected by a Letters Patent is:

l A non-pneumatic vehicle wheel comprising a rim defining a toridextending about said rim, a flexible peripheral metal band welded to theouter peripheral portion of said annular helical spring, a beaded casingex tending about the outer peripheral portion of said helical spring andoverlying the same, a pair of annular metal channels welded to the sidesof the helical spring and adapted to retain the beads of the casing infixed position, said rim flanges and said annular metal channelsco-extensively defining annular openings providing accesses for repairsand'annular sidewall coverings for said openings having a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced pairs of locking projections integrally formedon the inner face thereof; said locking projections being adapted tointerlock with the inner sides of the annular metal channels and theoutwardly extending

